Category: Medicine

Ms Nancy Abedi, a Dialysis Nurse at the International Maritime Hospital (IMaH) in Tema, on Friday expressed concern over the increasing number of kidney diseases being recorded at the hospital and called for sensitisation to reduce its prevalence.

On average, about two chronic kidney diseases were diagnosed daily at IMaH, where a high number of patients are already on dialysis, who undergo over 500 sessions in a month.

Ms Abedi dismissed the myth that the disease was ‘a sickness for the rich’ and said subsidies in its treatment were needed to ensure the vulnerable accessed care.

‘I have patients who are in the middle class, unemployed, with some as young as 23 years. It has no class preference, the poor and the rich are all prone to it,’ she said.

Ms Abedi was speaking in Tema on the Ghana News Agency’s health platform, dubbed: ‘Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility!’, an initiative aimed at promoting communication on health-related topics and setting the medium for public education.

It is estimated that one out of every 10 people might have some kidney disease that they might be unaware of, hence the need for education to ensure healthy lifestyles to reduce the trend, she said.

Inspite of the prevalence of the disease, most regions lacked dialysis centres to cater for patients, making some of them travel long distances to access care.

Ms Abedi said, for instance, that it was just recently that the Volta Region had one centre, while the Eastern Region, among others, did not have any.

The Tema area currently has five centres, all privately owned, with a high cost of treatment, she said.

A session of dialysis costs not less than GHC600.00 presently, and a patient needs at least three dialysis sessions in a week to flush out the toxins and extra water from their systems since their kidneys were unable to perform that function.

Mr Francis Ameyibor, the Tema Regional Manager, GNA, appealed to corporate institutions and philanthropists to consider adopting district hospitals and providing support to set up dialysis centres.

‘Helping to improve the health delivery system when one has the capacity is a noble cause… Saving a life is a godly obligation to all mankind,’ he added.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Professor Amos Laar, Public Health Nutrition Lecturer at the University of Ghana, has urged the government to implement a nutrient profiling system to promote the consumption of healthy foods among Ghanaians.

He said colonial-era food-related policies had influenced the consumption of unhealthy foods in the country, thus there was the need to change the trend by implementing Ghana’s policy response through the implementation of a nutrient profiling policy.

The nutrient profiling system he said could be implemented through food labeling policy, food procurement policy, marketing restriction policy, and food fiscal policy.

Prof Laar made the call during an annual public lecture in the Sciences on Food and Public Health organised by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences.

It was to reassert the links between food and public health as the speaker explored food from multiple perspectives.

It was on the topic: ‘Food and Public Health. If it’s not safe, it’s not food, and if it’s not healthy, it’s not good food: Unpacking Current Consensus and Tensions in the Food and Public Health Nutrition Landscape’.

The implementation of the nutrient profiling policy, he said, would improve the food environment in the country and lead to the availability of healthy foods.

‘We are going to have some of the food environment policies implemented with the direction of the nutrient profiling system.

‘So, we are working to develop food labeling policies, develop food procurement policies as well as food fiscal policies through the provision of subsidies in healthy foods and marketing restrictions policies as well,’ he said.

Prof Laar said the implementation of the policy would compel food environment actors to take immediate steps or strategic measures to reduce the production, processing, and retailing of unhealthy foods.

He added that the healthiness of food or lack thereof was influenced by multiple factors, including food marketing, food fraud, policy, politics, justice, democracy, and the food environment.

He said of equal importance were the impacts of unhealthy food on human and planetary health such as hunger and dietary-related non-communicable diseases

(NCDs), obesity, hypertension, stroke, ischemic heart disease, and diabetes.

He explained that diet related NCDs were the cardinal health problems Ghana was faced with amidst food insecurity and micronutrient malnutrition.

Prof Laar said according to research, over one-third of all adult deaths, most of which were premature, were attributable to diet-related NCDs.

That, if untamed, he said, would be the leading cause of death in Ghana by 2030.

However, he acknowledged the efforts of the existing regulatory framework to encourage the consumption of healthy food, saying more needed to be done through monitoring of products.

Emerita Professor Isabella, Akyinbah Quakyi, Vice President of Science Section Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences and the chairperson for the lecture, commended Prof Laar for the insightful research indicating that food and public health were inseparable.

The public lecture was attended by stakeholders in the food and beverage industry, academics, students, and policymakers, especially regulators.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Health have asked the government to prioritise funding for vaccines and childhood immunisations in the 2024 budget. They said the commitment was necessary to forestall the shortage of vaccines as experienced in previous years. The CSOs made the call at a stakeholder engagement organised by SEND GHANA and Hope for Future Generation in Accra, to solicit input into the 2024 national budget. Mrs Cecelia Sengoo, Executive Director for Hope for Future Generation, said the country must own the national vaccination drive, make an explicit budget and a sustainable plan for immunisation. ‘Vaccination is a whole investment, if we do not protect the future generation, we will end up spending money and resources to cure diseases that are preventable, we must ensure that the taxes we pay are allocated to the future leaders,’ she said. Mr Kwesi Asante, a Social Policy Specialist at UNICEF, said the government must increase capital expenditure for an efficient health sector. Mr Akumatey Tetteh, a Disease Control Officer at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), said the national Immunisation and Preparedness Plan (IPP) must be reviewed to ensure the availability and transportation of vaccines to children in hard-to-reach areas. He also called on the government to commit funds to the Integrated Diseases Surveillance Response (IDSR) to help screen for disease infections on time during outbreaks. Mr Stephen Atasige, In-Country Coordinator at Global Health Advocacy Incubator, called on the government to dedicate enough funding to the National vaccine institute. He also called for the establishment of an epidermic preparedness fund to ensure that Ghana prepared for future health emergencies. Immunisation is the process of giving a vaccine to a person to protect him or her against disease. In Ghana, immunisation has been a core public health activity through the Expanded Program on Immunizations (EPI) since1985. The current EPI schedule recommends Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) at birth; a total of 4 doses of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) given at birth, six, 10 and 14 weeks of age (OPV 0, OPV1, OPV 2 and OPV 3 respectively). Three doses of Diphtheria, Pertusis, Tetanus, Haemophilus influenzae type B and Hepatitis B (DPT/HiB/HepB), a five in one vaccine is administered at six , 10 and 14 weeks of age. Measles and Yellow fever vaccines are administered at nine months of age.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Management of the Saint Lucy Catholic Hospital, has said it acknowledges the needs of its clients and staff and is working towards making the hospital the most preferred and attractive facility in Tamale and its environs.

Dr Edward Gyader, the Board Chairman of St Lucy Catholic Hospital, who gave the assurance, appealed to stakeholders to partner the hospital in its quest to reshape its landscape for high quality care and medical tourism as, ‘We continue the Healing Ministry of Christ.’

He was addressing the 15th Anniversary of the St Lucy Catholic Hospital and fundraising towards the construction of a maternity block for the hospital in Tamale.

The St Lucy Catholic Hospital, which is located at Kpalsi in the Sagnarigu Municipality of the Northern Region, serves as a major referral facility in the Municipality.

Registered as Christian Health Association of Ghana, the facility began its operations in 2008 as a polyclinic and in May 2022, attained the status of a primary hospital providing a wide range of health care services.

Dr Gyader said even though the facility, over the years, had had its fair share of challenges, it had also chalked number of successes including increase in attendance, admissions and infrastructural upgrades

He appealed to the staff of the facility to demonstrate professionalism, love, empathy, compassion, standards and give a human touch, despite emerging challenges to build trust, integrity and enabling environment for holistic quality health care delivery in the area.

Most Reverend Philip Naameh, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Tamale appealed to stakeholders to support the hospital with funds, for the construction of a maternity block, to improve on maternal and child health indicators.

Mr George Abraham, the Sagnarigu Municipal Director of Health, commended the facility for its major role in serving the over 60,000 population of the area.

He gave an assurance that the Directorate would continue to support the facility to provide quality health care to the residents.

Mr George Adjei, the Director, Catholic Health Service Trust, urged staff of the facility to be innovative in their approach to work, considering the socio-cultural needs of the people for better care.

Most Reverend Peter Paul Angkyier, the Bishop of Damongo advised the hospital to develop strategic plans and partnerships, strengthen and collaborate with government and NGOs’ health care programmes, as well as financial management and fund-raising strategies to ensure availability of resources to run the hospital’s operations.

The Chief of Choggu, who was represented during the event, commended the hospital for its meritorious services to the people of the area.

Some staff of the hospital were given awards for their meritorious services to the facility over the years.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has celebrated its 30 years of existence with a health walk in Koforidua.

Joined by other sister organisations including the NCCE, staff from the regional, and district offices walk through some principal streets in Koforidua to mark the event.

Mr Michael Nkansah, Eastern Regional Director of CHRAJ in a briefing said the walk apart from the health benefits was to sensitise the public on CHRAJ’s presence and operations.

Per the mandate of the CHRAJ as stipulated by article 216, he stressed the need for the public to know where to go when their rights were abused, for redress.

Other activities lined up for the anniversary include a Symposium scheduled for October.

Meanwhile, from January to June this year, the regional office had received a total of 373 complaints from the public with child non-maintenance and child rights abuse topping the list.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Vice-President of Angola Esperança da Costa is due to re-inaugurate Monday, the Neves Bendinha Burn Hospital located in Luanda, after being given a facelift that enabled the expansion of the premises.

With the expansion, the hospital will have 93 new beds to accommodate patients, three laboratories, an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and telemedicine.

According to a note that reached ANGOP, burn patients, who had been treated and those admitted to a municipal hospital will begin to be transferred to Neves Bendinha burn hospital from October 3.

The facelift enabled the Block 1 to be equipped with a state-of-the-art laboratory, sterilization, a drug store with specific drugs for burns and others in common use and an 81-seat auditorium and administrative areas.

The Block 2 has been equipped with a library and meeting room with video conference, while Block 3 provides maintenance and supportive services.

The ICU has been equipped with 13 beds, three isolation beds for infectious diseases. The laboratory service has three rooms, two for clinical analysis (internal and external) and one for microbiology.

President João Lourenço had instructed the repair and expansion of the burn hospital based on the allocation of financial resources from the oil bonus for this purpose, this occurred after he leant about the advanced state of decay the hospital was found during a visit he paid in 2018.

Neves Bendinha Burn Hospital is a reference health unit in the country, whose mission is to provide humanized services to burn patients

Source: Angola Press News Agency